President Donald Trump has said federal agents deployed to confront protesters in Portland have “done a fantastic job” and could be sent to other cities, brushing aside reports of violence and detentions without due process.
The mayor of Portland and the Oregon attorney general have called for the withdrawal of federal agents, with the latter filing a lawsuit. The state’s governor and two senators, all Democrats, have also objected.
More than 50 nights of protests over police brutality and systemic racism have taken place in Portland since the killing of George Floyd. Protesters have reported violence by police and being seized by unidentified officers without due process.
Democrats in the US House of Representatives have demanded investigations, describing “the use of federal law enforcement agencies … to suppress first amendment-protected activities”. Trump has said he is considering sending law enforcement to cities including Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia.
Trump claimed police are “afraid to do anything” in some cities and that protesters are “anarchists” who “hate our country”. He said: “In Portland they’ve done a fantastic job … They grab them, a lot of people in jail.”
